All For One, and One For Himself

As predicted, Arnold Schwarzenegger won re-election. With the margins he racked up, he could easily have helped other Republicans on the ballot, most notably Tom McClintock -- a superbly qualified candidate who lost the lieutenant governor's race -- and Secretary of State Bruce McPherson, whom he himself appointed.

It's simply wrong to say that a Republican can't win in California. Steve Poizner won against Cruz Bustamante, because voters were acquainted with Bustamante only because of the coverage of Bustamante's buffoonish behavior during the recall. Other Democrats on the ticket were almost as hopeless, a point that could have been driven home to the voters.

Instead, the governor chose to help himself. Only. What a shame. And how revealing.

(As a side note, I'd also add that -- if Republicans in California are serious about passing a parental notification proposition when it comes to abortion -- they had best make sure that people understand that it contains a judicial bypass provision. Such provisions allows girls who would be physically threatened if they notified their parents about their pregnancy to obtain an abortion without parental notification. Otherwise, there will always be Dems like Antonio Villaraigosa, who went on the radio and insisted inaccruately that, if the parental notification measure passed, some girls would be in jeopardy.)